primal scene

American  

noun

Psychoanalysis.

1. a child's first real or imagined observation of parental sexual intercourse.

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Etymology

Origin of primal scene

First recorded in 1920–25

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

primal scene

It’s all enough to make Arthur Ashe Stadium a vast primal scene for Williams.

From New York Times ● Sep. 11, 2018

That description of the monster’s birth, which became the primal scene in all the films, is actually fairly cursory.

From Economist ● Feb. 15, 2018

This primal scene makes sense to readers who are familiar with the Western genre.

From The Verge ● Aug. 8, 2017

It’s the primal scene of American hard-boiled detective fiction: A private investigator, resentfully dressed up in his best suit, drives up to an old man’s imposing mansion.

From Washington Post ● Oct. 28, 2016

The preacher sketched lightly the primal scene to which his text related.

From The Main Chance by Nicholson, Meredith